Interview with Enhance
Driven by passion and the by a great desire for excellence, Serban’s first step towards a fulfilling career started with the decision he made in 2012 when I chose Architecture as his primary field of…
Design Legend Interview
23 April 2019
I've been dreaming to pursue a creative professional life since I was 12 years old and visited Italy with my parents. That was the moment I first discovered the world of art, design and architecture, starting to observe the world in a whole new perspective. From that moment I started developing my creative skills and, during my high school years, besides my 3-year preparatory architecture course, I've attended numerous scientific, design and art contests such as NASA Design Competitions, Design Oriented Biology Olympiads and Photographic Competitions. In these years I've developed my design skills and strengthened my faith that Architecture was the best field of study I can chose for studying at university. In my third year of study at UAUIM Bucharest, after a widely appreciated project that included the branding of a jazz event, I decided to work as a freelancer in design. I started working for two men fashion stores and, after one year, my services started being requested by various companies I have been recommended to by my initial clients. That was the moment when I approached two of my friends that also activated in the creative industry and peached the possibility of opening our own agency. 2015 was the year we launched Enhance and since that moment we successfully worked with over 30 clients and delivered more than 100 creative projects.
I became a designer because I've always wanted to bring beauty into the world. I have been appreciating design since I was just a child and I always wanted to be in the position of making people smile and improving their lives throughout my work. I think that my biggest motivation is to see my designs achieve their purpose and be successfully implemented by the companies I work with. The feeling I get when see my designs performing in real life is really special and the appreciation I get from the people I work with drives me to evolve and create new, better designs that can make a difference and inspire people.
No one ever forced me to pursue activities that I did not love. I've always found my own path and becoming a designer has been, since I was a child, my dream. When I was 12 years old I visited Italy with my parents and I was presented, for the first time, to the world of art, design and architecture. That moment was very important in my professional development as I started seeing the world in a whole new perspective.
Nearly all of my projects involve branding and graphic design. Over the last four years I was contracted for a big number of brand development projects and therefore discovered the area of design that brings me the biggest amount of satisfaction upon completion. I would like to take my branding projects further by also creating the architectural and interior design projects for the brands we represent.
I'm not a design legend but I dream of becoming one. Young designers should persevere, be ambitions, aim higher than the sky and dream...a lot. There will be a lot of ups and downs along the way but if you stay focused and concentrate on your goals you will definitely become a great designer and maybe, someday, a legend.
A great designer pushes the limits and struggles to deliver memorable content regardless of the project he is involved in. A great designer leaves a personal touch in each and every design and dreams of taking his designs to a certain level where it can as well be considered art. A great designer's work is eternal. Becoming a great designer involves a lot of hard work and perseverance that I am willing to invest all of my resources into deserving that title.
There are a lot of factors that make the difference between a good design and an extraordinary one. This evaluation can sometimes be purely subjective, but there are a series of key elements that make a design extraordinary that cannot be overlooked: the attention to detail, the uniqueness and the ability of achieving it's purpose while making people smile.
Good design is a very powerful tool that is essential for the success of every project. Regardless of industry design plays an important role in the final outcome of each and every developed product or service and is, most of the time, the most important factor in the customer decision making process. Therefore, good design is a highly valuable asset in which everyone should invest in order to ensure a successful outcome for their projects.
There are a lot of projects that I would start if I had more time. They are mainly targeted for the community I live in and for the young designers and artists of Romania, for my family and for me. Some of the projects are already planned and on hold until I find the time and funding to properly set them in motion. Talking about some of the most ambitious projects that I have in mind, i can say that one includes rehabilitating an abandoned historical building and creating a creative hub for designers and artists and another one is about launching an international architecture competition with the purpose of developing certain spaces of the cities of Romania. I would also like to properly enhance my current portfolio with high quality presentations and design for my family and bring my contribution to the proper development of their companies.
I've always dreamt of designing for a prestigious international fashion designer and I hope that one day that dream will come true.
"The details are not the details. They make the design." Based on this quote by famous architect Charles Eames, the attention do detail is my secret ingredient, being, in my opinion, one of the most important design tools that can make the difference between a good design and a great design.
Charles Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Jonathan Ive, Gorden Wagener, Massimo Vignelli, Chris Do, Sebastian Padilla, Nigel Bates, Mihai Popescu, and many others.
I don't have a favorite design. There are a lot of different extraordinary designs that inspire me and drive me to become a better designer. I can somehow narrow my answer to the portfolios of Anagrama, VizLine, TwinsStudio and the amazing works designers all around the world make for Nike.
Unfortunately I cannot make an objective ranking of my projects but I can definitely list some of my favourite brands created by Enhance: Marina Pufleanu, Cuvierr, Maison d'Or, Cavaliere and Axel Group.
In my opinion passion, ambition, open mindedness, auto-criticism, and constant research are the essential tools and characteristics every designer with high goals should posses. From the moment I've started working in this domain I started viewing the world in detail and learn from every interesting thing I observe. Every designer with high aspirations should constantly explore new personal design styles, search for high quality projects and learn from them and from the designers who created them.
I honestly don't know. I would have either pursued my field of study (Architecture) or Entrepreneurship.
Design is the fusion between aesthetics and functionality. One cannot work without another in each and every type of design. Design is about people and about improving their lives, both physically and emotionally.
My girlfriend, Patricia, is the one that constantly motivates me and drives me to becoming a great designer and professional. Without her I would probably not be where I am at the moment. Ionut, my associate, and Delia his girlfriend are also some of my key supporters and key player in both my professional development and the development of our agency. Last but not least, our families supported us all along the way and constantly inspired us to become the people that we are today and for that we will always be grateful.
There were a series of fortunate events and moments that professionally developed me into becoming a good designer but I think that some of the most important ones were the moments I my designs were criticized or refused. All of my clients were extremely exigent and had very high expectations from me regarding the quality of the designs I was contracted to deliver. Those moments, my clients expectations, constant practice, my passion and my drive of becoming a great designer were the key ingredients that made me reach the level I am today.
My biggest obstacles were the development of my personal style, the quest of finding my optimal design work flow, and the complete understanding of the technologies and manufacturing methods that can be used for bringing my designs to life.
Every design presentation should be carefully developed and and adapted to to the audience and to the context it is presented in. In my opinion, each project deserves a customized presentation in concordance with the particularities of the brand in cause. Every designer should be prepared to present his work in every situation and the quality of the presentation is essential.
I am currently working on numerous branding projects and there are also a few on the waiting list. In the next few months I will complete and launch the projects I am currently working on and I am sure that their outcome will be higher in matters of quality than anything I've designed until this moment.
I think that every designer out there has the same ultimate goal: to improve lives and make the world a better place.
They always expect a high level of creativity, top quality designs, professionalism and and a certain level of culture. And these expectations constantly drive me to becoming a better version of myself, both personally and professionally.
Design helps improving society on so many levels. Basically everything in our world was and will be designed at some point by someone. And that design can contribute do the development of society, from simply adding beauty to it, to creating breakthroughs that can change the lives, cultures, the health of the environment and even influence the outcome of humanity.
I am currently working on expanding my agency and taking it to the next level. All the premises are favorable and I hope that in the next close to medium time frame my development project will start paying off. At the same time we are working on numerous brand development projects and I am really looking forward to delivering the final result as they will definitely represent my best work so far.
All of my projects brought me satisfaction because I did not stop improving the designs until both me and my clients were satisfied with the final result. The highest level of satisfaction is achieved when you see your designs successfully implemented and observe that how they add value to peoples lives and properly help companies grow.
I would like to see an increase in design educational programs properly prepared to help develop young designers and transform them into successful professionals. I would like great design to be fittingly promoted and an increase in the number of design themed events all around the world. I would like to see more design competitions like A'Design Award. I would like to see a more coagulated design community leaned on improving the current society and ultimately the world.
I am really optimist regarding the future of design as the level of awareness regarding the importance of design in general is on an ascending path. Technology evolves at a high rate and new design solutions arise and help creative professionals express their ideas and concepts with more ease as ever before. I think that the near future will reserve us some major breakthroughs and, therefore, some extraordinary designs.
It depends on the complexity of the project. It can take from a few days to one year or more.
An initial thorough research is imperative to the success of each and every project, regardless of the project's type or complexity.
"The details are not the details. They make the design." - Charles Eames. This quote transformed into my motto a couple of years ago and also follows in various aspects of my personal life.
The answer is in the question. Great design sets the trends and then these trends set the design. Therefore, simplifying the previous statement, design sets the trends and trends set the designs.
Technology is essential in my design processes. It is basically one of my most important associates. It helps me in the process of designing, in the process of manufacturing my designs and sometimes technology is also included in my actual designs. Digitalization has been a huge step for the world of design in general and we all live in a world driven by the benefits and technology.
In terms of software I exclusively use Adobe developed design software which I consider to be the most complete design suite a professional can wish for. The performance of the equipment is an essential factor for delivering high quality projects. Therefore I work on a high performance workstation and regarding of the project I use a Wacom professional pen tablet and Canon photographic equipment. I strongly advise designers to invest into high performance equipment as it can make a big difference in the quality and associated time of every project.
Each and every ones of these aspects are essential to a great design. Choosing the right colors materials and ambient for your design can make the difference between failure and success. But then again - it's all about the details.
"How better could this design get?"
The first question that comes into my mind when I see a great design: "Why didn't I think of this until now?". Then I search for the portfolio of the designer who caught my attention, explore try to understand all of his design particularities.
In my opinion, co-design is essential for the successful outcome of a complex project. A big number of services and processes can be implied in the development of one single project and, a lonely wolf will not be able, usually, to deliver high quality in all the aspects of design involved in such a project. Fortunately I've found my ideal design partner and, together, we started our own agency four years ago.
All of my close ones and all of my clients have modeled me into the designer I am at the moment. Ones design style is a cumulation of fortunate interpersonal interactions and fortunate moments.
As a child I was fascinated of the world of Jules Verne. As I discovered that it's all adventure and fiction I understood that our mind can take us to the unknown and help us create extraordinary things. So I think that the books of Jules Verne had the most impact upon my creative development.
I've developed my skills by working and working and working again. Practice is bliss. I also constantly follow the works and interviews of various world renowned designers and in this way I constantly find motivation to evolve and become better and better.
This is a hard one. Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Turner, Nikola Tesla, Constantin Brancusi, Antoni Gaudi, Charles Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Houbert de Ghivenchi, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and, I don't know... The Queen. This is just a small list of names of celebrities, I could think about at first glance, I would love to meet and talk, regardless of time and space.
I'm not famous at all. [:))] This is my first design award and I wish that this will be the new chapter of a long fulfilling design career sprinkled with the honor of receiving many other awards of this caliber.
I can provide a quick answer for the first four positions: Emerald Green, Italy, Spring, Design. But when talking about brands things become a little bit different. There are a lot of brands that I deeply appreciate but I am afraid that I would need an entire book to discuss this topic.
The funniest and most awkward moment I've experienced as a designer happened recently as we were moving our office to a new location. We recently found a new home for our agency, in Cotroceni, one of the most beautiful areas of Bucharest in an extraordinary beginning of the 19'th century building. The space was in need of major restoration and renovation processes and me and my colleagues actively participated in all the activities of bringing our new office to life. In the meantime a client of ours sent one of his representatives to provide a sample of an ongoing piece of design included in a project we were participating in. When the representative arrived at our new office that was undergoing severe reconditioning processes, he refused to leave the samples as he thought we were construction workers trying to mock him. Our client later called and was really amused about the whole situation and, intrigued, personally came to discover the ongoing project.
I can say I had a great day as a designer when I've managed to create something remarkable, as little as it can be, or when I accomplish tasks that make me feel closer to achieving the goals I have in place for the projects I am working on. The days when my clients and close ones appreciate my work. And, of course, the days that I am nominated or win various prestigious design competitions. [:))]
Retrospectively I think it was pretty obvious that I will pursue a creative career. I've been playing with creative toys all of my childhood, settled upon architecture since 5'th grade and attended numerous creative competitions along my teenage years. I won't rush into saying that it was obvious that I would become a great designer, but rather that I will pursue a creative career.
I can just hope that the world and society we live in will start observing it's mistakes and begin finding solutions to develop in a better, healthier way. I hope that mankind would evolve into better understanding the mysteries of life and of the universe. I hope that the new AI technologies prove to be human-friendly. And I hope that all of the science fiction movies covering future damaged societies remain science fiction. But all of my hopes can be only achieved throughout great design. So I definitely think that designers could ultimately change the world if they
Everyone is invited to discover more about us using the following contact details: Phone: +40 (724) 74 33 39 - E-Mail: office@enhance-studios.com - Address: Str. Dr. Victor Poloni, Nr. 22, Sector 5, Bucuresti, Romania
Designer Interview
23 April 2019
When I was 12 years old I visited Italy with my parents and I was presented, the first time, to the world of art, design and architecture. That moment was very important in my professional development as I started seeing the world in a whole new perspective. From that moment on I knew I wanted to study architecture and become an architect. Later, during my high school years, besides my 3 year preparatory architecture course, I've attended numerous scientific, design and art contests such as NASA Design Competitions, Design Oriented Biology Olympiads and Photographic Competitions. In these years I've developed my design skills and strengthened my faith that Architecture was the best field of study I can chose for studying at university. In my third year of study at UAUIM Bucharest, after a widely appreciated project that included the branding of a jazz event, I decided to work as a freelancer in design. I started working for two men fashion stores and, after one year, my services started being requested by various companies I have been recommended to by my initial clients. That was the moment when I approached two of my friends that also activated in the creative industry and peached the possibility of opening our own agency. 2015 was the year we launched Enhance and since that moment we successfully worked with over 30 clients and delivered more than 100 creative projects.
Enhance is a creative agency based in Bucharest, Romania. It was established in 2015 and, in the last four years, we delivered over 100 projects for more than 30 clients. At the moment our team is formed of 6 members but we are searching to include more creative people in our agency.
Design is the fusion between aesthetics and functionality. One cannot work without another in each and every type of design. Design is about people and about improving their lives, both physically and emotionally.
As I have observed along the last 4 years, the works that I like designing most are strongly related to fashion: fashion branding, packaging and campaigns.
I don't have a favorite design. There are a lot of different extraordinary designs that inspire me and drive me to become a better designer. I can somehow narrow my answer to the portfolios of Anagrama, VizLine, TwinsStudio and the amazing works designers all around the world make for Nike.
My first project was for a bespoke men suits store from Bucharest - Marsay. I managed their social media accounts and created unique content for their ads and campaigns.
Behance - it is the first showcase platform I discovered as a young designer and the place that drove me into evolving and creating better and better designs.
Traveling is very important for designers. It is a tremendous source of inspiration and helps you open new creative doors, discover, styles, projects, contexts, colors and so on. So I can definitely say that I feel the most creative when I get back home and have the drive of exploring all those beautiful design directions I've discovered during my trip.
Color, texture, proportions and typography.
Joy, anger and then joy again. There are a lot of emotions that arise during a design process. And maybe those emotions represent some of the pilers of creativity.
When are designs realized? If it were for me I would never end working on a design because I always feel there is room for improvement. Therefore, that moment that represents the end of a project is a moment spiced with a lot of mixed feelings - joy, fear, relief, and so on.
In my opinion, the attention to detail, in all its complexity, is what makes a design successful.
When judging a design I always consider color range, material range, attention to detail, proportions, and when talking about graphic design, typography.
I consider that every designer should invest, at least, all of his of his intellectual resources into creating a better society throughout his designs. We all design for people, for improving their lives and it's important to give the best we can into making the world a better place for us and for the the generations to follow. Bottom line designers create the context everyone lives in and it's important that we take into account how our designs will impact the society and the environment.
Design is evolving at a very accelerate rate. Its development is strongly linked to the constant evolution of technology and I think that we are at the edge of transforming sci-fi into reality. However I am seeing a constant rise of interest upon the ways to create designs that are environmental friendly and I really hope that designers would understand the consequences of creating designs that influence the society and the environment in a bad way and explore new solutions that could make the world we live in a better place.
Until now we did't have the opportunity of exhibiting our works in an exhibition. We launched our digital portfolio last year and we are currently working to improve it and present new projects to our potential customers. In the near future we will consider presenting our works in an exhibition but there are some important steps that must be crossed until that moment.
Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. A quick example can be the main inspiration we got for the project we nominated this year at A'Design Awards - Marina Pufleanu Branding. A few days after receiving the brief from our client I was randomly browsing the portfolio of famous photographer Norman Parkinson when I came across an exceptional photo of a model wearing a pale pink and gray dress. That photo later became the main inspiration point for our project. Of course there are a lot of platforms like Behance, Dribble, Pinterest and Instagram that I constantly follow to find inspiration and to discover the latest trends in design. Also trips enhance my creativity and various components I observe during my visits act like as important sources of inspiration for my future projects.
This is a tricky question for me because I am in a constant journey of finding my personal design style. At the moment my favorite style is defined by the fusion between modern and traditional elements. But this style can be only integrated for certain brands that can support these elements.
I live in Bucharest, Romania. Of course! Cultural heritage definitively influences my designs to some extent. Unfortunately, in my opinion, at the moment, design in Romania is at a relatively low point in matter of quality and perception upon its importance. We are in this position for a number of reasons that I will not comment at the moment, but, observing the evolution of the market in the last 5 years, I feel that the awareness upon the design community is on an ascending trend and the importance of design is starting to go up in the priority list of local entrepreneurs. I believe that in a couple of years Romania will become a important international player in matters such as talent awareness, design quality and design export. Therefore, Romania is a country with great potential for the design industry and I am sure that good design will be more and more appreciated.
It depends on the type of project we are contracted for and on the size of the company we work for. In our portfolio you will both find start-ups and big companies. Some clients contract us for total image and communication management services and some hire us for spot projects. Some of our clients have well defined brands and we need to act upon some strict brand manuals, while some of our clients have poorly developed brands or, in some instances, no brand at all. So the processes, levels of implication of the companies representatives, and various other aspects depend on the company we work for.
The relation between company and designers, regardless of whether we talk about in house designers or agencies, should be seamless. Companies should find the most suitable design team for the particularities of the brands they represent and create a strong relationship with this team because, in most situations, the outcome of the design projects is strongly influenced by this professional relationship. As in every other professional relationship, mutual respect is essential for the success of the project. The company and its design team should perfectly match for ensuring the success of the design projects, therefore a thorough initial research regarding portfolios, design styles and various other factors being mandatory before starting a collaboration.
It depends on the particularities of each project. Firstly, in each and every instance, I try to understand the characteristics of the company and of the brand as thoroughly as I can and explore the best ways in which my design can accomplish its purpose. After a complete research process I start conceptualizing the direction in which the design will evolve. After putting together all of the necessary data I need to go forward with the design process, I enter a trial and error stage that lasts until I am completely satisfied with the final result.
I am at a moment in my life where I invest all of my resources into developing myself and my business. Therefore I can admire design items at home only by browsing the internet and adding them to my wish list. For the moment I can only list some of my favorite design oriented brands - Bang & Olufsen, Eames, Antonio Citterio, Poltrona Frau, Buster and Punch and the list can continue.
I wake up at 7 o'clock. I run or cycle from home to the office. I drink my coffee and as I listen to the news. I start the daily briefing with my team and somewhere around 10 o'clock we start working at our ongoing projects. We finish our working hours at 6 PM. I then head home and try, unsuccessfully, to put aside until next morning all the tasks I have to accomplish at work. Basically, my body is at home, but my mind is constantly blocked at work.
I am still a young designer but I've learned a lot of things since I started working in graphic design 5 years ago. Become a graphic designer only if you are truly passionate about design. Thrive for creating sensational designs. Try even to reach perfection, but "Don't fear perfection - you will never reach it" - Salvador Dali. There are going to be a lot of moments when you will be down, both physically and emotionally. Don't let that moments cancel your drive or make you forget about your goals. Be critic about your work. And dream! A lot!
I can only talk from my perspective and be aware that I am in love with what I do. Starting with the positives, I can say that the only way you can design is with passion. That implies that you are always doing what you love and that you can transform every ordinary project into an extraordinary one. By designing you can improve lives, help companies grow and improve the context you live in and that is very rewording. Your work will get appreciated and that will have a great impact upon your professional live and upon your drive. Talking about negative sides I can only say that sometimes you will not be able to deliver good design in concordance with your client's deadlines, you can get mocked a lot by individuals that pretend being experts in design and, in some instances, you can easily lose focus and lose your creativity due to numerous external factors, for an unknown period of time in which, in order to deliver your projects, you need to continue designing and struggle to find your last creative resources.
"The details are not the details. They make the design." - Charles Eames
There are three skills that I appreciate the most in a creative person. It's not the proficiency in using design software, level of education or social status that I am interested in. The three skills that make the difference are: passion, good taste (a very abstract skill that I don't know if I am able to explain) and the ability of observing, judging and being critic about design in different contexts.
The toolbox I use can be compared with Hermione's purse. I constantly discover new tools and sources of inspiration and add them to my inventory. Talking about creation tools, the most important software that I use is provided by Adobe, from Photoshop to Illustrator and InDesign. Regarding sources of inspiration there are two categories. Firstly, the world wide web, where Behance, Dribble and Pinterest have a crucial role in my research and inspiration processes and, secondly, the collection of stationary materials, collaterals, books and samples I have been developing for over 5 years.
Managing my time is probably one of the most difficult tasks I have to deal with. Due to my position in the agency, Creative Director and Managing Partner, I cannot be focused 100% on the design area as I must occasionally be available for client meetings. And as we all know that creativity and inspiration are not available in each and every second of a designer's life, I often deal with moments in which I am not able to design at all and moments when I get up in the middle of the night and start working. To prevent avoiding delays regarding deadlines I always take into consideration a five day delay due to unexpected factors.
It depends on the complexity of the project. It can last between a few days to a few months and, in some instances, one year or more.
On a funny note, the most frequent questions that I hear are "Can you make the logo bigger?" and "Why is your process taking so much time? I know a guy who can do this in one hour!". On a more serious note there are two questions that arise in each and every meeting: "What drove you into entering the graphic design industry?". My reply to that answer is brief - passion.
My most important job experience was represented by our collaboration with Viarom, the Romanian subsidiary of the French construction group Eurovia-Vinci. Their critic feedback and their attention to detail changed our perspective upon quality and had a great influence upon our attention to detail and level of professionalism.
We worked with numerous local and international companies from various industries such as Fashion and Accessories, FMCG, Automotive, IT, Construction, Manufacturing, Medical and Pharmaceutical and others. Some examples of our clients are: Alu Menziken, Stanley, BlackCab, Kenwood, Netop, Alphega, Bayer, Farmexpert, Minifarm, Braiconf, Marsay, Cavaliere, Zenonni Su Misura, Viarom-Eurovia-Vinci etc.
Branding and graphic design - these are my main areas of expertise, the areas of design I'm good at, and they bring me the highest amount of satisfaction upon completion.
At the moment we are in the process of scaling up and our goal is to become one of the important players in the Romanian design community.
We design as a team. Every project is divided into multiple milestones (for example: research, strategy, concept and design), milestones that are assigned to different members of the development team. Each and every task is discussed with the entire team and after multiple feedback sessions the project comes to a final form.
We are currently working at two very interesting projects with great potential - Braiconf and Lara Sweets. Braiconf is a famous Romanian shirt manufacturer established in 1950 that produces shirts for some of the biggest international brands. In 2020 they turn 70 and that year will be celebrated with a total rebranding and various awareness campaigns and events. Lara Sweets is a new bakery based in Bucharest
Everyone is invited to discover more about us using the following contact details: Phone: +40 (724) 74 33 39 - E-Mail: office@enhance-studios.com - Address: Str. Dr. Victor Poloni, Nr. 22, Sector 5, Bucuresti, Romania